Reawakened (The Reawakened Series) (47 page)

With a small secret smile, I folded my fingertips over the heart scarab and raised my other hand to hail a cab.

“Bring him forth,” the goddess Ma’at proclaimed.

“I do not understand why this is necessary. It never has been before,” the young man protested.

“What is going on here?” Anubis asked as he entered.

“This young man must place his heart on the scales of justice,” the goddess explained patiently.

Anubis ran a hand through his hair, relieved to have changed out of his modern-day clothing. “But he is not really dead. His judgment is suspended until he is released from his duty.”

“In this case, he must be evaluated. He bound himself to a mortal and was slain by a mortal. If the death of their union is to be final, then there must be an assessment.”

“But his death is not final.”

“That is immaterial. All things must be balanced.” She indicated the golden scales set before her. “His heart must be weighed to determine if his actions on Earth are worthy.”

“They were,” Anubis vouched.

Ma’at chastised, “Above all things we are charged with following the laws of the cosmos.”

Anubis grunted. “Fine. Then get it over with.”

The beautiful goddess took an ostrich feather from her headdress and placed it on the scale closest to her, then smiled benevolently at the young man standing by Anubis. The gods stared expectantly as he stood quietly, head lowered, and fists clenched.

After a silent moment passed, Ma’at spoke. “You are aware of what you must do, are you not? Anubis, perhaps you had better explain things.”

The young man answered with a determined gleam in his eyes. “I know what I must do.”

“Then you may proceed,” the goddess denoted, with a small gesture toward the scales.

And with a secretive gleam in his eye, the young man flicked his wrist and disappeared.

As I do in all my books, I first have to thank my always-willing-to-eat-sandwiches husband, Brad, who is my tireless supporter in everything I do, and my mom, who moved in with us as I was writing this book. She’s both a constant help and a constant distraction, which keeps my life constantly interesting.

I also would like to express my deep appreciation for my sisters, Shara, Tonnie, and Linda, and my sis-in-law, Suki, whom I jokingly label Assistant #1, Assistant #2, etc. They cart around bags, books, laptops, posters, luggage, and ever-increasing amounts of stuff that I need at events and conferences. They smile while taking pictures, arranging my hair, powdering my nose, ordering me to drink water, and entertaining my fans while I take bathroom breaks. They’re always excited about my work and full of advice that I only listen to half the time even though it’s always good.

I’m also thankful for my brothers, Mel, Andrew, and Jared, who all actually attended book signing events this year and managed not to roll their eyes as I talked about kissing. Whenever I need to write about what makes a good guy, I never have to think too hard.

My early-reading group is mostly made up of my siblings, but it also includes a few very special people: Linda, who has championed my books since the beginning; her husband, Neal, who creates all my fun posters, stickers, and promo stuff; and Fred, a good friend who checked up on all my Egypt references and his wife, Liz, who reads him all my chapters since he doesn’t really like to read. Imagine!

My agent, Alex Glass, has always been willing to yoke himself to the same wagon and help me pull it along. His insight is immeasurable. The team at Trident Media Group work with him seamlessly, and I wish I could name them all but I fear I would leave several of them out. Suffice it to say they are all amazing and a credit to their profession.

This time I have a new publishing team to express gratitude to, and that includes Tamar Schwartz, Angela Carlino, Heather Lockwood Hughes, and especially Beverly Horowitz and Krista Vitola, who were both willing to take a chance on me and welcomed me and my mummies with open arms into the Delacorte Press family. I’m so blessed to have such a supportive team at my back.

To my fans: I don’t even have words. You guys are all so dedicated to me and my tigers, and even though you’ve had to wait for the last tiger book, you have all generously made room in your hearts for my mummies. I appreciate you all so much!

Lastly, I wanted to thank my dad. He passed away while I was writing this book; it is the first novel I’ve finished that he didn’t get to read. It’s been a hard road without him, but I know that he would be immensely proud of it and would brag about it to everyone he knew while pressing freshly published copies into their hands if he could. He was a great man who is sorely missed by all who knew him.

Colleen Houck is the four-time
New York Times
bestselling author of the Tiger’s Curse series, which has appeared on the
USA Today
,
Publishers Weekly
, and Walmart bestseller lists, among many others. She has been a Parents’ Choice Award winner and has been reviewed and featured on
MTV.com
and in the
Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Girls’ Life
magazine, and
Romantic Times,
which called
Tiger’s Curse
“one of the best books I have ever read.” Colleen lives in Salem, Oregon, with her husband and a huge assortment of plush tigers.